Man, 79, Being Tried In Airport Incident

ENFIELD — The trial of an East Hartford man accused of cutting out a 150-foot section of a fence surrounding Bradley International Airport began Thursday in Enfield Superior Court.

Augustus Simmons, 79, of Main Street, East Hartford, was arrested April 9, 1997, after police found the section of fence missing. Simmons, police said, parked his car in front of the hole in the fence and refused to move, blocking construction crews from making the necessary repairs. He had to be removed from the car by officers, police said.

On Thursday, Assistant State's Attorney John H. Malone presented witnesses who talked about the legal and safety needs for a perimeter fence around the airport.

Simmons says he still owns the property off Route 20, near a dirt lot where people are known to park their cars to watch planes take off and land.

``Nobody ever bought it from him,'' said Simmons' attorney, Geoffrey Naab of Manchester.

Simmons has been having a dispute with state and federal officials since 1964 over the way the state acquired his land for an expansion of the airport.

The state took the 6 acres through eminent domain in 1968 and attempted to pay Simmons $365,000 in return. Simmons never picked up the check, and the state eventually considered the money unclaimed property.

The taking of the land was deemed fair by a Superior Court judge in 1978 and by the state Supreme Court two years later. State and federal courts have barred Simmons from further litigation on the matter.

Simmons is being tried, before a jury of six, on charges of first-degree criminal trespass, tampering with airport property and interfering with an officer. The case is being heard by Superior Court Judge Patricia Harleston.

The attorneys in the case previously faced off in a similar case involving constitutionalist Edwin Thrall of East Windsor. Thrall, who held police at bay with a gun for several hours in 1995, believes the state improperly took possession of the dance hall he built in East Windsor. He was convicted on some charges and spent six months in jail.